10.6084/M9.FIGSHARE.21569664
Arezoo Shajiei
Arezoo
Shajiei
Lei Liu
Lei
Liu
Jolien Seinen
Jolien
Seinen
Willem Dieperink
Willem
Dieperink
Sven Hammerschmidt
Sven
Hammerschmidt
Jan Maarten van Dijl
Jan Maarten
van Dijl
Hermie J.M. Harmsen
Hermie J.M.
Harmsen
Specific associations between fungi and bacteria in broncho-alveolar aspirates from mechanically ventilated intensive care unit patients
<p>
The detection of fungi in the human respiratory tract may represent contamination, colonization or a respiratory infection. To develop effective management strategies, a more accurate and comprehensive understanding of the lung fungal microbiome is required. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to define the “mycobiome” of mechanically ventilated patients admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) using broncho-alveolar aspirate (“sputum”) samples and correlate this with clinical parameters and the bacterial microbiota. To this end, the mycobiome of 33 sputum samples was analyzed by Internal Transcribed Spacer2 (ITS2) amplicon sequencing of the ribosomal operons. The results show that in the investigated sputa of mechanically ventilated patients <i>Candida</i> spp. were most frequently detected, independent of pneumonia or antimicrobial therapy. The presence of <i>Candida</i> excluded in most cases the presence of <i>Malassezia</i>, which was the second most-frequently encountered fungus. Moreover, a hierarchical clustering of the sequence data indicated a patient-specific mycobiome. Fungi detected by culturing (<i>Candida</i> and <i>Aspergillus</i>) were also detected through ITS2 sequencing, but other yeasts and fungi were only detectable by sequencing. While <i>Candida</i> showed no correlations with identified bacterial groups, the presence of <i>Malassezia</i> and <i>Rhodotorula</i> correlated with oral bacteria associated with periodontal disease. Likewise, <i>Cladosporium</i> correlated with other oral bacteria, whereas <i>Saccharomyces</i> correlated more specifically with dental plaque bacteria and <i>Alternaria</i> with the nasal-throat-resident bacteria <i>Neisseria</i>, <i>Haemophilus</i> and <i>Moraxella</i>. In conclusion, ITS2 sequencing of sputum samples uncovered patient-specific lung mycobiomes, which were only partially detectable by culturing, and which could be correlated to specific nasal-oral-pharyngeal niches.</p>
Medicine
Microbiology
Genetics
Molecular Biology
Ecology
Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified
Infectious Diseases
Taylor & Francis
2022
2022-11-17
2024-03-21
Journal contribution
882819 Bytes
10.1080/21505594.2022.2146568
CC BY 4.0